Eva walked into the dim hallway, the familiar musty smell brushing against her nose as the crystal light flickered back and forth. She stopped in a large clearing, with others gathered in groups of ten or five. Everyone was in a group- no one daring to enter the dungeon alone like her.
They all walked towards the entrance, with Eva following along, stopping in front of a clearing with a huge open stone door in the middle. The crowd grew tense, some holding weapons, others praying for luck, some hoping to come out alive, and others already imagining the gains they would collect.
The crystal light flickered as they stepped into the unknown.
This was the entrance to the outer area, marked by a crumbling ancient grey statue that supposedly indicated the level of beasts inside.
But it wasn't to be trusted-you could easily stumble into deeper levels, whether by carelessness or pure bad luck.
Eva stared at the open door and thought the author must have been sadistic or just plain drunk when creating the dungeons.
How could you create a door to distinguish dungeon levels but still make it possible to stumble into deeper ones? It was wickedness of the highest order- giving people a false sense of security, only to push them into danger. No wonder they all formed large groups before entering.
Now, Eva regretted her impulsiveness, forgetting she was not dealing with a typical dungeon. At least the author did one thing right, by keeping the abyssal boss-level monsters in their own sections. Otherwise, this world would be doomed.
Tightening her grip on the sword, she steadied her mind and was about to walk in, resigned to her fate. 'There was no use regretting it- it wouldn't pay her bills or feed her.
''Excuse me, would you like to join us?'' a polite female voice sounded from behind her. Eva turned to see a party of ten- three women and the rest men. Her gaze landed on the black-haired woman addressing her.
''Sierra, don't just invite anyone to join our team,'' a snarky, arrogant voice chimed in. The speaker was a brown-haired woman standing next to Sierra.
''Olivia don't speak like that. I noticed she was alone, and from her hair color, she might be an energy manipulator or healer,'' Sierra replied in a calm, soft tone, causing Olivia to frown while the others sided with Sierra.
''But we already have a healer. Isn't that enough?'' Olivia muttered under her breath, though everyone heard it.
''Olivia, how many times have I told you to curb that behavior? Apologize,'' the man in the middle scolded, making Olivia feel the sting of her fiancè's constant siding with Sierra.
''I won't apologize! How can she just invite a random stranger into our team?'' Olivia snorted, though the others were used to her attitude.
''Dereck, let it go. I was wrong not to ask for everyone's consent,'' Sierra said, bowing her head in a remorseful gesture, but Dereck quickly took her hand. "Don't worry. It's not your fault - you were just thinking of what's best for the team." His tone was soft, and others nodded in agreement.
Olivia's heart squeezes tightly. Dereck's blatant favoritism towards another woman over his own fiancèe hurt deeply. She stared at the two of them, her mind finally made up. She would break off the engagement.
She was the eldest daughter of the Maxwell family and didn't need to tolerate this disrespect. There were other men out there. The thought freed her heart, making her feel lighter than she had in a long time. 'Why was I holding onto him in the first place?'
She turned to where the green-haired woman stood earlier, only to find the space empty.
''Hahaha... Sierra, where's your temporary teammate?'' Olivia said, laughing. She had never felt so free and happy at this moment.
The others quickly looked over- no sign of the petite, green-haired woman anywhere.
Sierra's face darkened, though she quickly composed herself, pretending to be as shocked as others. She hadn't told them the real reason she wanted that woman to join. Eva bore a striking resemblance to Madam Lucy.
Sierra wanted to know why and uncover her origins. But the woman had trampled on her request and left without a word.
Sierra's nails dug into her palm as she struggled to maintain her innocent expression. Olivia's laughter only added salt to her wound.
Meanwhile, Eva sighed in relief at having escaped that landmine of a team.'But it was a shame- I missed out on some drama because of my limited time. Sigh... What I do for money.'
She wiped invisible tears away and focused on the ground ahead, which was behaving strangely. Black smoke covered the ground as Eva gripped her sword, her eyes fixed on a black, spider-like monster emerging from the shadows.
Her skin crawled with disgust as she saw green slime ooze from the monster's mouth, scorching the ground beneath it. The smell of rotten eggs left under the sun wafted towards her nose, making her expression distort as tears dripped down her face. (༎ຶ ෴ ༎ຶ)
Her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes, but she managed to dodge the monster's attack. 'God, what is this disgusting smell? My nose- it's broken!' she thought, tears still streaming down her face.
Determined to end it quickly before she succumbed to the stench, she gripped her sword and rushed forward.
This monster was an F-rank monster, but its fur could be sold to the wealthy for its softness and warmth. Remembering this, Eva's eyes brightened as she attacked, careful to avoid erosive webs.
Her sword glowed with green light as she harnessed the surrounding energy, strengthening her weapon.
Each strike reminded her of her dojo training on Earth. Her clumsy actions gradually sharpened, becoming more precise with every movement.
Her eyes gleamed as she realized she had countless opportunities to kill the beast- but she didn't. Instead, she used it to hone her skills, determined to remember every technique she'd been taught, being her memories were still rusty.